Play urgent moves before big moves

By this, it is meant that you must play those moves which are required before you can play those you want to play.

Moves which are required are typically moves which stabilize your group. Moves which you want to play are typically extensions, attacks etc.

I once heard James Kerwin define an urgent move as something like a move that prevents one of your previous moves from becoming meaningless. -- Darron Shaffer
jpduke? I can't remember where I read it, but I like the definition of the difference between urgent and big as something like the following: 'Imagine you are standing in front of a huge banquet which is all free, but you are desperate to go to the toilet..' Eating the food would be big, but the toilet is urgent.

Bill: The point of this proverb is that some moves, namely those on urgent points, are larger than they may look at first glance. Since people generally have little trouble going for the jugular when they are on the attack, in practice this proverb mainly applies to making good shape.

John Fairbairn An extension to the proverb, based on chats with a pro but also borne out by looking at pro games: play the urgent points in your own positions before attacking those in the opponent's positions.